Stevenson-Fonfara Rematch Heading Back To Bell Centre

As long as they're doing it again, Adonis Stevenson and Andrzej Fonfara might as well return to the scene of their first encounter.

The June 3 light heavyweight title fight rematch between Stevenson and Fonfara will once again take place at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada. The venue played host to their first fight, where Stevenson scored a unanimous decision victory in a bout where both boxers suffered knockdowns over the course of their fan-friendly 12-round affair.

Le Journal de Montréal was the first to report the news of a venue being named.

News of the rematch was revealed earlier this month, but has not yet been formally announced. That will now come on Wednesday, April 19 at a formal press conference to be held in Montreal.

Stevenson (28-1, 23KOs) - from Canada by way of Haiti - will attempt the eighth defense of the title he acquired in a 1st round knockout of Chad Dawson, with the four-year anniversary of that feat to come five days after fight night. The 39-year old southpaw won the belt at the Bell Centre, where he is 11-0 overall. All but one at the venue has ended inside the distance - the lone bout to go to the scorecards being his first encounter with Fonfara.

It was also the last time he headlined at the Bell Centre or even fought in Montreal, where the majority of his career has taken place. Three of his past four starts have been staged in Quebec City, with a title defense in Toronto mixed in between. He has been out of the ring since a 4th round knockout of Thomas Williams last July, his lone bout of 2016.

The rematch with Fonfara (29-4, 17KOs) comes in place of what were believed to be near-finalized plans to face unbeaten Seanie Monaghan at Nassau Coliseum in the Uniondale section of Long Island, New York, mere minutes from Monaghan's Long Beach hometown. However close they were to a deal, Stevenson called an audible in returning to a familiar face for his next outing.

Fonfara came in as a questionable contender heading into their first fight, but his stock rose dramatically in defeat. He emerged as a top contender thereafter, only for his world to come crumbling down following a shocking 1st round knockout loss to Joe Smith last June in his adopted hometown of Chicago, Illinois. The bout aired live in primetime on NBC, and was regarded by many outlets as the biggest upset of 2016.

Somehow, event handlers took a giant eraser to that result, instead fast forwarding Fonfara back to the title picture on the strength of a 10th round knockout over the used-up 2017 version of Dawson this past March in Brooklyn, New York.